The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Double the pleasure
Manchester boys and girls track teams take first in Metric Relays
By Ed Patino, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 15, 2008
Competing in their final home meet of the season, the Manchester varsity boys and girls track teams made it a memorable occasion.
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Getting contributions throughout their rosters, both teams outlasted the field and captured first place May 10 in the Manchester Metric Relays.
The girls team won seven events and placed second in four others to win the eight-team meet with 123 points. The Flying Dutch finished well ahead of second-place Adrian Madison, which scored 91 points. Meanwhile, the Manchester boys team used a win in the 1,600-meter relay, the day's final event, to beat out Michigan Center for the overall team title. The Flying Dutchmen finished with 88 points to Michigan Center's 81.
Blissfield, Napoleon, Onsted and Brooklyn Columbia Central also participated in the relays.
"Both the boys and girls teams did the best they could as a team," Manchester coach John Bancroft said. "I've gained confidence in what the kids can do, and they're proving it to me every meet."
Five of the Manchester girls wins came in relay races. The 800-meter relay team of Tracy Schaible, Brooke Fuller, Amanda Mutchler and Laura Coltre ran a time of 1:49.74 to win the event. They also finished .04 seconds shy of the meet record, held by East Jackson in 1993.
Schaible, Coltre and Mutchler teamed with Haley Cook to win the 400-meter relay at 52.56 seconds, while the 1,600-meter relay team of Schaible, Mutchler, Fuller and Taylor Heldt finished in 4:17.26, giving the Dutch another victory.
"Brooke had a tremendous day in the sprint medley and anchoring our mile relay," Bancroft said. "She's been hotter than a pistol this season. Our sprinters had a good day and are getting close to school records."
Coltre, Mutchler and Fuller teamed with Myra Sandford for a winning time of 1:54.89 in the Manchester relay, while the Dutch also won the middle-distance relay with Liz Timoszyk, Shelby Lalik, Kate Brown and Heldt finishing in 7:32.16.
The Dutch also scored victories in the high jump and long jump relays. Ginny Girbach, Heldt and Lalik combined for a height of 14-0 to win the high jump event, while Coltre, Schaible and Macie Takessian gave Manchester a win in the long jump (43-1 1/4).
"Laura is the only senior of that group in the high jump and long jump," Bancroft said. "Freshmen and sophomores make up the rest."
The Manchester girls placed second in the shot put, discus, 3,200-meter and freshmen/sophomore relays. Kyla Wilberding, Marissa Olmstead and Candice Weidmayer combined for 87-7 1/2 in the shot put, while Megan Simmons teamed with Wilberding and Olmstead combined to throw for 238-7 1/2 in the discus.
"All four of our shot putters and discus throwers have performed well all year long," Bancroft said. "They've been consistently scoring in their events, and really came through for us Saturday."
Sarah Burch, Evelyn Dority, Jenny Kempher and Timoszyk posted a time of 11:08.6 in the 3,200-meter relay for the Dutch, while Katelyn Horning, Stephanie Steele, Brown and Sandford placed second in the freshmen/sophomore relay for Manchester with a time of 4:53.13.
"Kate ran a great race, and Myra, Stephanie and Katelyn would be the best runners on many teams," Bancroft said.
The boys competition came down to the 1,600-meter relay, and Manchester's team of Brian Fargher, Carl Wharam, Corwin and Clayton Every won the event with a time of 3:34.31 to help the Dutchmen pull away from Michigan Center.
"We thought the boys meet would be close and that we'd have a chance to win," Bancroft said. "The mile relay team ran their best time of the season, and they're really starting to get into shape."
The Dutchmen won three other events. The middle-distance relay team of Wharam, Matt Lahyer, James Hughes and Corwin Every posted a winning time of 6:00.29, while Zack Margraves, Adam Colvia, Nick and Logan Ross won the Buffalo relay. Manchester also won the shot put relay as Nick Popkey teamed with the Ross brothers to throw for 119-10.
"The Everys run aggressively and hard and keep getting better," Bancroft said. "The shot put has been a pleasant surprise. Nick Ross has been good all year, while Logan and Popkey are coming on."
The Manchester boys also placed second in four events. The high jump team of Kevin Mulcare, D.J. Hone and Logan Ross posted a height of 16-10, while the long jump team of Fargher and the Every brothers placed second at 53-3 3/4.
"This was the first time Mulcare has ever jumped, and D.J. had a personal record at 5-10," Bancroft said. "The kids on this team enjoy each other's success. They cheer for each other and there are very few soap operas."
Hone, Fargher, Margraves and George Kelly placed second in the Manchester relay at 1:38.9, while the 3,200-meter relay team of Hughes, Wharam, Nate Hyde and Ryan Ernst took second for the Dutchmen with a time of 8:52.23.
Manchester competed in the Cascades Conference meet Wednesday at Grass Lake after the newspaper's deadline. The boys team went after its fourth-straight league title, while the girls team looked to win the Cascades crown outright after splitting it with East Jackson last year.
The Division 3 regional meet begins Friday at Erie Mason and concludes Saturday.
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